This message contains images. If you don't see images, click here to view. Click here to advertise in this news brief.   Mobile version    RSS    Subscribe    Unsubscribe    Archive    Media Kit Jan. 24, 2013 Home   About ASJA   How to Join   Our Members   Find a Writer   For Writers           Did you know? ASJA    Share    Did you know? The ASJA Monthly is ASJA's monthly magazine, filled with news and features of interest to the whole freelance writing community. And it's free at www.asjamonthly.org. Each month you'll find great articles and items about the art and business of the writing life. Current features include: Voices on Writing: Kelby Carr, Widen Your Horizons with Corporate Writing, From Fact to Fiction, Fired Up By The Chef, and others. There's also an archive packed solid with informative articles that can help you to develop your writing skills and improve your freelance career. Visit soon and subscribe! More Newspaper audience aged severely since 2010 Newsosaur    Share    The population of people reading newspapers has aged dramatically in the last three years to the point that nearly three-quarters of the audience is aged 45 or older. More Swarming a book online The New York Times    Share    Reviews on Amazon are becoming attack weapons, intended to sink new books as soon as they are published. In the biggest, most overt and most successful of these campaigns, a group of Michael Jackson fans used Facebook and Twitter to solicit negative reviews of a new biography of the singer. They bombarded Amazon with dozens of one-star takedowns, succeeded in getting several favorable notices erased and even took credit for Amazon's briefly removing the book from sale. More Letters in the Wind: A writer's evolution The Millions    Share    Kevin Hartnett , a staff writer for The Millions, writes the Brainiac ideas column for the Boston Globe and blogs about fatherhood and family life. "The first time I learned what it means to be really good at something was in high school, on a golf course, with my hands cracked raw in the cold. I was on the 17th hole at Cape Arundel, a short, tricky course on the coast of Maine where the Bushes played in the summer. But as I stood there contemplating my tee shot in a hard wind off the Atlantic, all the glorious rounds I'd played on long August days felt very far away; I was who-knows-how-many strokes over par, my swing disintegrating in the elements." More Venerable Vanity publisher Vantage Press closes its doors Writer Beware    Share    Vantage Press, one of the USA's oldest vanity publishers, closed its doors at the end of 2012. In a letter to creditors received by PW, law firm Hendel & Collins of Springfield, Mass. writes, "Vantage does not have sufficient revenue to sustain itself as a going concern. It has, therefore, ceased all business operations." More Little big, man: Small changes, big effects Columbia Journalism Review    Share    Sometimes, it's the little things that count. Little things like whether to use "a" or "the," for example, or whether to include a comma in a particular spot. More Considering self-publishing? Don't bother, unless you follow Guy Kawasaki's advice Forbes    Share    And if you're considering self-publishing a book, make the first resource you read Guy Kawasaki's new book APE: Author- Publisher – Entrepreneur – How to Publish a Book co-written by Shawn Welch. More Amazon touts self-publishing benefits front and center Publishers Weekly    Share    Amazon's home page began featuring a promotion for author Vincent Zandri and the success he's found through publishing on the Kindle platform after his book deal with a traditional publishing house fell through. "Mystery writer Vincent Zandri was flying high when his novel The Innocent won a publishing contract with a promised $250,000 advance," the promotion reads. "Thirty years old and convinced that he was on his way to Grisham-like success, Vincent was shocked when the deal began to go south." More Why write your own book when an algorithm can do it for you? ReadWrite    Share    Phil Parker is unlike any writer you've ever met — or read for that matter. That's because he doesn't write most of his books. Instead, the trained economist uses sophisticated algorithms that can pen a whole book from start to finish in as little as a few minutes. The secret is sophisticated programming mimicking the thought process behind formulaic writing. It can take years to create these programs, but once completed, new books can be churned out in minutes. More Self-publishing no longer a second-rate choice for desperate Colorado Springs Gazette    Share    By Marty Mokler Banks: On a recent Sunday morning, I sat at the computer, finger poised above the mouse. With both fear and excitement, I clicked "Publish." Within minutes, my children's chapter book, "The Adventures of Tempest & Serena," was self-published and available in paperback and e-book at online retailers, bookstores, schools and libraries everywhere. Ten years ago, I never would have clicked that button. More Kobo doubles sales in a crowded e-reader market The Christian Science Monitor    Share    The last year or so has certainly been a mixed bag for booksellers. After a holiday season in which Barnes & Noble posted dismal sales while some independent bookstores rejoiced in brisk business, Kobo is now reporting surprisingly strong numbers for its e-reader sales over the past year. More   The ASJA Weekly Colby Horton, Vice President of Publishing, 469.420.2601 Download media kit Yvette Craig, Senior Content Editor, 469.420.2641    Contribute news This edition of The ASJA Weekly was sent to ##Email##. To unsubscribe, click here. Did someone forward this edition to you? Subscribe here -- it's free! Recent issues Jan. 17, 2013 Jan. 10, 2013 Jan. 3, 2013 Dec. 27, 2012 7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063